How to proceed?

poohandpunky

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I have 2 cats, Callie a 13+ yr old lap cat and Black a 12 yr old whose pretty much feral. For many years I've been caring for a colony of ferals. The colony was down to 3 cats. We'll be relocating to a different city in the spring and I plan on taking the colony cats with me. We are building a home and will have an enclosed indoor/outdoor area for them. The youngest is 9 years old. About 3 months ago I brought 1 of the colony cats "Fluffy" to my current home. It has actually gone better than I expected. She now has a room of her own with a cat tower and big window. The door is open and she has access to the hallway, a bathroom, and the den. The cat tower has a cubby hole and that is her safe spot. I spend alot of time interacting with her and she loves to be petted and scratched. She's still scared of my husband with his low voice, etc. She's a lovely little girl and uses the litter box perfectly which never ceases to amaze me. She is most active at night, playing like crazy with her squeaky mice and balls. I allow my cat Callie into Fluffy's area but Callie hasn't been as friendly as I'd hoped. Fluffy would like to be close to her but Callie will hiss and that scares Fluffy. I haven't really introduced Black to Fluffy as Black can be aggressive. I feel bad for Fluffy thinking she may be lonely. I go back and forth thinking about bringing a second colony cat to my home to give Fluffy a companion. What if the second cat is wilder than Fluffy? Will that cause her to digress? Am I wrong to leave the last colony cat all by himself? My husband has agreed to me bringing a second colony cat here but not the third. Not until we move to the new house in the spring. I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts or ideas. Thank you and sorry so long.
 

Babypaws

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I guess I shouldn’t be commenting since I have 12 indoor cats now. Two are my original cats, 15 years and 11 years. The others were what I call rescue cats from our yard. I had nine until a few weeks ago when I brought 3 kittens inside on our porch. The mother cat started to disappear for weeks....I just couldn’t leave them out on their own. Whenever we were outside they would follow us around and then one really hot day I brought them on the porch where it was cooler. I’ve taken them to a vet and they’re getting their shots until then I’m keeping them separated from my other indoor cats. When you mentioned about leaving the one cat behind when you move, it broke my heart. How long have you been feeding him/her?
Isn’t t he depended on you for food after all this time?
 

klunick

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I guess I shouldn’t be commenting since I have 12 indoor cats now. Two are my original cats, 15 years and 11 years. The others were what I call rescue cats from our yard. I had nine until a few weeks ago when I brought 3 kittens inside on our porch. The mother cat started to disappear for weeks....I just couldn’t leave them out on their own. Whenever we were outside they would follow us around and then one really hot day I brought them on the porch where it was cooler. I’ve taken them to a vet and they’re getting their shots until then I’m keeping them separated from my other indoor cats. When you mentioned about leaving the one cat behind when you move, it broke my heart. How long have you been feeding him/her?
Isn’t t he depended on you for food after all this time?
Wow! 12 cats. I can't imagine. The only time I have seen 12 cats at one time was when two of my sister's cats had six kittens each. :lol:
 
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poohandpunky

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Oh no, I would never leave them behind. We'll be moving in the spring and I'll be taking all cats with me. At the new house we will have a cat room with a catio for the colony cats. Until then I continue feeding. My dilemma is about bringing a 2nd colony cat to my current home. Sorry for the confusion.
 

Babypaws

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Wow! 12 cats. I can't imagine. The only time I have seen 12 cats at one time was when two of my sister's cats had six kittens each. :lol:
Yea, I’m definitely the “Crazy-cat lady” But I’m at the limit
now...there were 3 others but I found good homes for them. I would never give them to a shelter, there are too many poor animals already in shelters. i can put the blame of 6 on a kitten I befriended that was born in our yard 2 years ago.
She had 3 siblings but she was the only one who got friendly (it took all winter) Before I could get her to come inside. She had a litter 3 kittens outside. I brought them all inside but not soon enough because mommy had got pregnant again. This time 6 born on our porch...that was the beginning of my little tribe. This Spring there were 3 kittens born in our yard again, so as I mentioned they are now inside=12
They are all spayed and neutered except the 3 newest kittens. The cost wasn’t bad because of Spay Wagon and a traveling vet who came to local Pet Store (shots)
They all have their own personalities and are family now.
 

klunick

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Yea, I’m definitely the “Crazy-cat lady” But I’m at the limit
now...there were 3 others but I found good homes for them. I would never give them to a shelter, there are too many poor animals already in shelters. i can put the blame of 6 on a kitten I befriended that was born in our yard 2 years ago.
She had 3 siblings but she was the only one who got friendly (it took all winter) Before I could get her to come inside. She had a litter 3 kittens outside. I brought them all inside but not soon enough because mommy had got pregnant again. This time 6 born on our porch...that was the beginning of my little tribe. This Spring there were 3 kittens born in our yard again, so as I mentioned they are now inside=12
They are all spayed and neutered except the 3 newest kittens. The cost wasn’t bad because of Spay Wagon and a traveling vet who came to local Pet Store (shots)
They all have their own personalities and are family now.
My sister is a very irresponsible cat owner. Has never gotten hers fixed. When she moved out of my mom's house, she had found homes for all the kittens. She had 5 adult cats with one being pregnant again. She gave all but one to the shelter ( the pregnant one went to the shelter too). She currently has two females and none are fixed. How she can stand the meowing when they are in heat is beyond me. Drives me batty after a couple minutes.
 

Babypaws

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My sister is a very irresponsible cat owner. Has never gotten hers fixed. When she moved out of my mom's house, she had found homes for all the kittens. She had 5 adult cats with one being pregnant again. She gave all but one to the shelter ( the pregnant one went to the shelter too). She currently has two females and none are fixed. How she can stand the meowing when they are in heat is beyond me. Drives me batty after a couple minutes.
I’ve read if you don’t get cats/dogs spayed or neutered they could get cancer. The person who had my 11 year old female cat didn’t get her spayed and when I took her, she drove me crazy when she was in heat...it didn’t take me long to get her spayed. Lol
I. Sure there are clinics around your sisters area that are reasonably priced to get them spayed. I hope she keeps them inside or she’s gonna have a bunch more kittens to bring to the shelter. 😢
 

klunick

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I’ve read if you don’t get cats/dogs spayed or neutered they could get cancer. The person who had my 11 year old female cat didn’t get her spayed and when I took her, she drove me crazy when she was in heat...it didn’t take me long to get her spayed. Lol
I. Sure there are clinics around your sisters area that are reasonably priced to get them spayed. I hope she keeps them inside or she’s gonna have a bunch more kittens to bring to the shelter. 😢
Growing up, my parents got all our animals fixed. I don't think price is an issue either. She just didn't care, I guess. She has a fenced in yard and lets them out back there so I think they are safe from roaming males. They do come in contact with copperheads though. Ick!!!
 

moxiewild

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Oh no, I would never leave them behind. We'll be moving in the spring and I'll be taking all cats with me. At the new house we will have a cat room with a catio for the colony cats. Until then I continue feeding. My dilemma is about bringing a 2nd colony cat to my current home. Sorry for the confusion.
Are the two who are outside together close?
 
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poohandpunky

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They're in a wooded ravine a few miles from my home. When they come up to eat they are usually together and I've seen them lying together in the shade on some of these hot days. Before I got involved about 9 years ago there was an elderly gentlemen who had been feeding for a number of years. When he started feeding there were 3 adult cats. He believed in letting nature take it's course so none were fixed. I TNR'd them and was able to find homes for the kittens and a couple adults. That left 7 adults (all the offspring of the original 3) and I gradually took over the feeding. In the past year a friend of mine took 2, 1 disappeared, and 1 suddenly became terribly ill and we were unable to save him.
 

fionasmom

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If you are not able to bring both colony cats into the house, and if they are safe where they are, I would almost be inclined to leave them together until you take them. Of course, I don't know if there are predators, etc who could hurt them before the spring, etc. I have two ferals outside now, a male and younger female who are both TNRed and they are very close. It bothers me that the male, who is older and might not be well, might not have a lot of time left and I hate to think of the little girl losing her friend.
 
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poohandpunky

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As outdoor locations go this one is fairly safe. The winters here in NW Ohio can be pretty brutal. I appreciate your thoughts. I will continue to ponder this situation. I wonder if the colony cats will remember Fluffy after months of separation?
 
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